How Do You Build Big Calves If You Weren’t Born With Them?

You’ve certainly seen very developed calves on somebody who’s never touched a weight in their lives. It’s also common to see an avid gym goer with no lower leg development to speak of. The calves are probably the most genetic-dependent muscle group. It comes down to the length of the calf muscles and the tendons they are attached to. You have to work with what you’ve got, and it’s certainly possible to build the lower leg muscles.

Calf workouts will require very high intensity to break through and increase their size. This a muscle group that’s constantly being worked just by walking. This means that they need some really hard training to force them into adaptation and consequently, muscle growth. You also can’t just do short bouncing reps and expect to get results. Get those heels down on calf exercises for a full stretch and get up on your toes for a strong muscle contraction. When the full reps are no longer possible, burn out with some bouncing cheat reps at that point.

I like to do very few sets for the calves, but I make them count. Incorporating high-intensity training with short pauses and weight drops enables me to continue a set until complete failure. Basically, one set is a superset made up of 5 or 6 sets. I also keep the exercises relatively simple, as these can be done in just about any gym. However, with just a dumbbell and a platform you can lower and raise your heels on, you can get a great workout for the calves.

Calf Workout #1

Seated Calf Raise

It takes a lot of work to get the calves to grow, so these are done for high reps with a good stretch and contraction on each rep. Sit on the calf machine and go as high and low as you can. I like to change my toe placement to train all of my calf muscles.

This is going to be one long set that incorporates multiple high-intensity techniques. I start with a weight I can do for about 20 reps and go to failure. Then I take 10 seconds to pause before getting more reps. After this, I will take another short break before doing the last part of this superset with some “bouncing” reps. Take a 90-second to 2-minute rest before doing another superset.

Slanted Calf Raises

The gym I go to has one of these machines to work the calves. It’s like a standing calf-raise machine but I like the way it slants back. Honestly, it doesn’t hurt that it’s also right by the seated calf raise machine at my gym and I can easily use the same weights on it. I do the exact same thing here as I do on seated calf raises.

Seated Toe Raises

I don’t see this machine in every gym, but I have the opportunity to use it these days. It features harnesses shaped to put your feet in. This will allow you to train the anterior tibialis muscle – basically the shin muscle. Training this area can help prevent shin splints and make the lower legs look bigger. I do this one leg at a time, switching limbs after failure. I go for 3 or 4 alternating rounds on this superset with a lot of reps.

Calf Workout #2

Donkey Calf Raise

Go for 15 to 20 reps to failure, then take a couple of short breaks to get more reps. The last part of your set can be short “cheat” reps to really get a burn in the calves. Rest for 1.5 to 2 minutes before performing a second superset.

One Leg Calf Raise Machine

The calf machine I like to use has you seated with your legs out in front of you and your feet on a small platform. This emulates a standing calf raise. What I do here is to do calf raises one leg at a time, alternating after failure. Go back and forth a few times with the same weight then drop the weight for one last bunch of reps.

Toe Raises

I just stand with my heels elevated on a raised surface of some sort to start this exercise. Then I raise my toes to work the fronts of my lower legs. This is a very high rep set with some pauses to keep going.

Calf Workout #3

One-Leg Seated Calf Raises

Try doing seated calf raises one leg at a time. It doesn’t take very much weight to get the most out of this exercise. Train one calf, then immediately train the other. Repeat this a handful of times, making sure to do full reps. You can do some “bouncing” reps to finish your set off.

Standing or Leg Press Calf Raises

Either of these exercises will work for this calf workout. They are both down basically the same way, with the legs very slightly bent and getting a nice stretch and contraction on every rep. I like to do a drop set on standing calf raises and a rest/pause set on leg press calf raises.

Standing Cable Toe Raise

If your gym has a cable machine with a shoe harness attachment, you can take advantage of this exercise targeting the shins. Lift the toes against the resistance to target the fronts of the lower legs. Go back to back between your legs after you hit failure two or three times.

When I Train My Calves

I just put all of the muscles of the legs together for their own workout. Splitting them up is fine if you prefer. In my case, constantly walking at work and cycling or running for cardio could be too much if I do more than one session per week for my leg muscles. Whatever the case, my calves are trained after my quadriceps and hamstrings.